We are lucky to live in an area where so many people treasure our environment. It seems odd therefore that, while other local councils have mapped out and included Matters of Local Environmental Significance in their planning schemes, Mareeba Shire Council has still not yet done so.

Therefore we, together with other environmental groups, have recently written to the Mayor and Councillors and asked that this matter is progressed urgently. Here is a copy of the letter sent. We'll keep you informed of any responses.

The Challenges

We face several threats to the quality and survival of human life. These include

• climate change & increasingly severe weather events.

• loss of biodiversity resulting in destruction of ecosystems and the interconnected web of life on earth.

• pandemics

• annihilation by nuclear weapons & other weapons of mass destruction.

• pollution of essential resources such as water, air and soil.

Seasonal changes take hold in Julaymba 1. With a flick of the tail, Yirrmbal 2 slides away through the gorge. Kabakabada 3 lingers and shuffles as Duluruiji 4 circles to land. Coming to the cool dry now. Herons stalk slow and stealthful, bait-fish surge and coruscate. Bilngkumu 5 bask all along the banks of the great green and brown beguiling river.

At the April FoE FNQ meeting, guest speaker Steven Nowakowski gave a very powerful and confronting talk about the threat that some industrial scale renewables pose to biodiversity. Steven emphasised the need for urgent action to stop burning fossil fuels and to mitigate climate change. However, he added: 'Should we be clearing forests to decarbonise?' (The World Heritage Listed Mount Fox volcanic crater west of Ingham shown in the photo, could soon be surrounded by up to 200 wind turbines. The forests would be carved up with 190km of new haulage roads up to 60m wide.)

Climate change is delivering unprecedented climate patterns across Australia. The use of fossil fuels is now directly proven to be a key driver in climate change and has resulted in a 1.5C temperature rise since the industrial revolution. To keep temperatures below 2C is a herculean task.

The transition to zero emission renewable energy is now finally occurring. This comes with its own challenges. Industrial scale renewable projects are sometimes in the wrong locations.

Since the early 2000s, FoE Australia has raised awareness about the impacts of climate change on the peoples of the Pacific Islands region. Our research, publications and events have highlighted the effects of more frequent and more extreme weather events, sea level rise and ocean warming and acidification - and the threat of displacement and forced migration.

With the influx of so many new people to Kuranda, this month we're revisiting wildlife friendly ways of living.

The Climate Crisis

In some respects, preventing climate breakdown is highly complicated. But in another, it’s really simple. We need to:

• leave fossil fuels in the ground,
• stop deforestation,
• eat a mainly plant based diet,
• live simpler lives and
• reduce the waste we produce.

 'At the UN climate summit in Glasgow last month, governments failed to set the world on a path to reducing emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 in order to stabilise the climate close to 1.5 degrees but did close the gap to that trajectory.'  according to Cam Walker of Friends of the Earth (FoE)  Australia.'

Congratulations to FoE FNQ member Margie Pestorius who recently won the Local Agent for Peace Award from the Rotary Peace Centre of Queensland University. Here she writes about her peace work and how it relates to environmental protection.